


Breath of the Wild

by calamitouslove



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: A very very slow burn, Angst with a Happy Ending, But the reader is so emotionally constipated, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Leon is just trying to be a nice Himbo™, Past Abuse, Slow Burn, Spoilers for Pokemon Sword and Shield, Tsundere Reader, Verbal Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-23
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21534871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calamitouslove/pseuds/calamitouslove
Summary: You're a runaway from Sinnoh that has made their way into the Galar region.And he's the beloved champion of the Galar region with an impressive undefeated streak.《☆☆☆》You've been framed for a crime that you did not commit, leaving you with no choice but to leave Sinnoh. The very region that you had called home for many years.Upon arriving in the Galar region you come across Leon, the undefeated Champion. Despite every instinct telling him to stay away, your cold nature captures his curiosity leaving him wanting to get closer. Though getting closer only comes with the truth that you longed to keep in the past.Though everyone's past eventually comes back to haunt them.When the truth is revealed can you rely on Leon to be able to shield you from the darkness that you longed to hide from? Or will you succumb to the darkness from deep within you?《☆☆☆》
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Reader
Comments: 15
Kudos: 146





	1. Question 《not an update》

I wanted to give you all the option of choosing the reader's pokemon for this story because I've really enjoyed writing this so far and the feedback that I've gotten has been greatly appreciated.

So, besides Deino, what pokemon should the reader have on her team?

Please choose five other pokemon that the reader should have. With the exception of legendary pokemon of course.


	2. Prologue

_A middle aged man reaches out, but a wall of fire separates him and the young girl that he desperately tried to reach for. The woman beside him weeps in both despair and in relief at the sight of finding the girl alive. She sits up and her breath hitches in her throat at the sight of the fire. Her soft (e/c) hues lock with her father's._

_"Get out of here now!"_

_"I can't leave you two here, you're my parents!"_

_"(Y/N), you need to save yourself before they come back for you."_

_"But-"_

_"Sweetheart, listen to your mother. You're the one that they want."_

_"I don't want to go." The girl sobs._

_The sound of something snapping is heard in the distance, signifying the family that the one they feared was still very much alive. The young girl flinched, as if a pokemon had used the move fake out on her. Another snapping sound is heard and this time, she catches a glimpse of the fire creating a shape around their figure._

_"Go now! And never forget that your father and I love you very much."_

_The words were repeated back to them, before she bolted in attempt to make her escape._

_"Run all you want, but I will find you girl!"_

° ° °

Your eyes snap open, as the memory of that night comes back to haunt you. You had been forced to leave your home back in Sinnoh many years ago to save yourself, just as your parents had wanted you to. You look out the plane and gazed at the sun setting over the horizon. Deino, who was huddled up next to you, headbutted your arm lightly to get your attention. You petted the small dragon pokemon and he let out a cry in content, though he was careful to be quiet since the two of you were stowaways. Deino's stomach rumbled in hunger and he looked down letting out a cry of sadness.

"I'm sorry Deino, but we finished all our food yesterday." You say

Deino wanders off to smell the boxes around you in hopes of finding food. Though he was out of luck because there was no food in the room that the two of you were in. Deino whimpers and turns to your direction, using the smell of vanilla and lavender to find you.

"Let's go find you something to eat." You say

Sneaking out of the room with Deino, you quietly close the door behind you. Deino takes the lead and sniffs the air, he finds no smell except the scent of food. You open the door and you and Deino find an empty seat to sit at. You wait to order something for Deino, that you failed to notice that he had moved. A Sylveon sat on it's trainer's lap, enjoying some fresh oran berries when Deino began to munch on one of it's berries. The Sylveon didn't mind and it even cried out in joy. A scream was later heard beside you and the Sylveon's trainer pointed a manicured finger at you.

"Get your nasty little vermin away from my Sylveon! He's probably filled with diseases, though that's typical for a dragon type pokemon."

"How were you even allowed on this plane?! You look like a poor!"

"And I bet that you're not even supposed to be here! But security will fix this in no time."

She takes out her rotom phone and while glaring right at you she begins to have her conversation. You didn't hear the person on the other line, but you clearly heard the girl asking for reservations to a spa to "cleanse herself" from the poor. You growl, feeling yourself beginning to get angry at her antics. She reserves her spot and hangs up, giving you her unwanted undivided attention once more. She snaps her fingers in a demanding way and that catches the attention of a flight attendant.

"Is there anything you need Miss?"

"Yes, she's not supposed to be here and her runt is stealing my pokemon's food! I demand that you have her kicked out!"

"Do you have a ticket Miss? A ticket is needed in order to ride this plane." She says, turning over to you.

"Umm..."

You snatch the rest of the berries and grab Deino in order to make a run for it. Though on a plane, there was only very limited room to where you could go. The plane's staff run after you screaming at you to stop, but you had been running for years and you weren't about to get caught by them or by anyone else. As if by a miracle by Arceus himself, the plane comes to it's landing and you make your escape by jumping over the seats. Except that they wouldn't let you leave so easily, thankfully there was a large crowd huddled up in the city that you had landed in. You ran into the crowd, soon getting lost in it. You waited a while until the coast was clear and began to push your way through the large crowd. You backed away cautiously to keep a lookout for any of the staff, but after not seeing any of them, you turned around to make a run ror it. However, you ended up bumping into someone causing Deino and his berries to crash into the floor. You linger for a moment, before kneeling to pick up Deino's berries.

"Let me help you with that."

Deino sniffed the man's hand and bit on his gloved hand. The crowd gasped and all you could do was stare wide eyed at your pokemon. The man only laughs, not bothered by Deino's bite at all. He picks up the berries and allows for Deino to eat them off his hand. Your eyes roam the stranger from head to toe from his long dark blue hair, amber eyes, and his strange outfit. Nothing was odd about the uniform, since it was common in Galar, but to pair it with a large cape and a snapback cap? Now that part was odd. You feel something nuzzling your neck and you turn to find a Charizard staring back at you. 

° ° °

_You didn't know where you were headed, but at this very moment you didn't even care. You had already been ran out of your home, so now it didn't matter where you went because you knew that you'd never have a home ever again. A young boy with blue hair and amber eyes, frantically searched the area for his Charmander. He blamed himself for being so directionless that led to his partner getting lost. He wanted to release another one of his pokemon to help with his search, but he only feared they would get lost too in the pouring rain._

_"Charmander!" He called out_

_You ran past the boy as he ran towards the opposite direction from where you were headed. In that moment if felt like Dialga had stopped the very flow of time, but then soon after time moved normally again with neither of you two noticing the other's presence._

_You kept on your pace, stepping further into the unknown region until you come across about ten Rookidee hovering over a small Charmander. The fire pokemon layed under a tree to try to shelter itself from the rain, only for the Rookidee to take turns poking it with their beaks. You could only assume that the Charmander had accidentally stumbled onto their home. Without thinking twice, you shielded the Charmander and pushed away the Rookidee. You no longer had your partner pokemon since it's passing, so pushing the Rookidee away was really the only thing you could do. They cried out and at first you thought nothing of the sort until a Corviknight appeared in front of you. It squawked at you in anger, but before you you could react the Corviknight had striked._

_° ° °_

_You felt something bite down on your head, as your eyes fluttered open. Your head ached, but so did the rest of your upper body. You couldn't really remember much aside from the fact that you had to run away in order to survive at the cost of your parent's own deaths._

_"Deino, let go of the girl's noggin." A stern yet calm voice speaks out._

_Your (e/c) eyes looked up at the unrecognizable ceiling above. Your (e/c) meet with the blue eyes of an elderly woman._

_"Where am I?" You ask_

_"You're at my house dear, in Postwick. After that nasty hit you received from that Corviknight earlier, Garchomp and I brought you back here. But don't worry, your pokemon made a speedy recovery."_

_"I don't have a pokemon." You mumble_

_You attempt to sit up, only to bump heads with Deino. The elderly woman chuckles, but you only clench your throbbing head with your hands. From the kitchen you could see Charmander sharing some pokemon food with a Kingdra and a Noivern._

_"Thank you for your help..."_

_"Solandis."_

_You nod._ _"Thank you Solandis, but I really should be on my way."_

_"You should stay a while, at least until that concussion of your's goes away."_

_"I'd like to at least return Charmander to it's trainer first." You say_

_"How did you know that, that Charmander had a trainer?" Solandis questions_

_"I didn't, but you just confirmed my suspicions. I'm guessing that you figured that out yourself when you treated it's wounds."_

_Solandis smirks. "Impressive. Go on then, find this little one's trainer, but take this one along with you for protection."_

_Deino stands proudly, thinking that Solandis was referring to him, but she was pointing towards the outside where her Garchomp was at. You thank her and grab Charmander, making your way outside to meet up with the ground dragon pokemon. Deino turns over to your direction, following your smell, and quietly let's out a cry of disappointment. Solandis pats it's head and gestures for him to follow her, while assuring him that his time would come._

_After dropping of Charmander at the nearest pokemon center where the attack had happened, you and Garchomp returned back to Solandis. You had stayed with her up until your thirteenth birthday, the day after you leff with Deino, deeming it the best course of action since you didn't want to get too comfortable. If you did, that could only mean that Solandis would become the next means of leverage._

° ° °

You back away in fear, not recognizing Charizard the way that he had recognized you. His trainer notices and gives you a dazzling smile, that would make others swoon but seemed to have no effect on you whatsoever.

"I'm sorry about that, Charizard doesn't usually act like this unless it's with family. But he's clearly taken a liking to you already." Leon says

"Let's go Deino." You say

With the crowd around you, you're sure that you have already drawn enough attention. Leon frowns for a split second, obviously noticing that you've dodged his attempt to talk to you. Deino hops off his arms and runs over to you, following your scent in the process. Leon allows you to walk away, even as he found a strange feeling of familiarity from you. But it was for the best since he was in the presence of his fans and this matter should be discussed in private instead.

You reach into your pocket and pull out the stolen money that you had snatched up from Leon. Now you'd finally have enough to be able to get Deino and yourself by for quite some time.

"Looks like I still got it."


	3. I : ...Ready for it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the numbering is a little messed up, but this is actually the first chapter and the one before it was the prologue.
> 
> I would also like to thank everyone who answered my previous question, it's been very interesting to read through all the different responses. :)

**《☆☆☆》**

**"Me, I was a robber first time that he saw me. Stealing hearts and running off and never saying sorry. But if I'm a thief, then he can join the heist. And we'll move to an island-and and he can be my jailer."**

**...Ready for it?**

**《☆☆☆》**

After stealing from Leon, you headed on your way back to Postwick with every intention of visiting Solandis. When you had left, you promised her to return at least once a year, but you never really did keep your promise to her. You figured that she would be furious with you for that, but if she knew the true reason why you stayed away, for about nine years, you knew she would understand. At least you hoped that she would because you needed a place to stay in with someone that you trusted. Arriving in Postwick, you could see Solandis' breedery from the distance. Smelling the familiar scent of his old home, Deino ran on ahead of you. You arrive at her front porch, not long after Deino did, you knock and prepare for the incoming speech that you were sure you'd be receiving.

"She's not home." A voice says from behind you.

You turn and find a miniature version of the man that you had robbed earlier. No doubt that they were related.

"Do you know when she'll be back?" You ask

"She wasn't very specific- You have a Deino! It looks so cool!" He says

He kneels in front of Deino and holds out his hand for him to smell. Deino does so and takes a few tentative steps towards him. He even goes as far as to let the boy pet him.

"We should have a battle! We can go back to my place and battle there, we even have an arena and everything!"

"No-"

"She'll battle you Hop, but first we have a few things to discuss. Go on now, the girl will meet you there in a few minutes."

Hop thanks her and runs off to get ready for his upcoming battle with you later. You and Deino look down in shame, the two of you knowing that she was going to scold you both. But mostly you of course for breaking her trust.

"Solandis..." You mumble

She holds up her hand to signal you to be quiet.

"You stole from the Champion didn't you?" She questions

You nod, not wanting to make things worse by lying.

"Going back to your old ways aren't you?"

"I don't steal unless I have to and at that point, I didn't have anything to buy food with."

"Return the money." She says

"What?" You ask

"We'll house you, but you have to return what you stole-"

"Oh, we're not staying here for long. We should be headed out tomorrow."

"Where do you plan on going?"

"I dunno know... Deino and I are wanderers, we don't like to stay in one place for too long. And I'm pretty sure I've overstayed my welcome even before officially landing here in Galar." You explain

"If you'd just come clean about whatever it is that you're hiding, everything would be a lot easier for you."

"You don't understand what would happen to me if I come "clean"! I'm not ready for that!" You frantically exclaim.

Solandis sighs. "If I can't convince you, do what you want and spend your whole life running."

You let out a huff, as you cross your arms. "I'm going to eventually clear my name, just not now. Staying alive is my number one priority and it always will be."

Staying alive was your top priority, but so was clearing your name. Though to do that you needed to trick some gullible idiot to into helping you. If you tried to clear your name now, they'd come for you and you'd still be the one to blame for what had happened. But if you had someone on your side, the outcome could come out differently and maybe you'd earn your freedom opposed to being locked up in a cell for the rest of your life.

"Aren't you going to at least ask why?"

"No, I'm not. From the time that you stayed with me, I've come to understand that some people simply need to hit rock bottom before they can begin to turn their life around for the better."

"Pfft... my parents are dead and I've been stripped from my childhood. It doesn't get any more worse than that."

"You'd be surprised." Solandis says

"I get it! I'm not Raihan!"

Solandis let's out a deep sigh. There you went again bringing up Raihan. Over the years you made it abundantly known that you didn't like Solandis' old protege, who was now one of Galar's very own gym leaders. You didn't know if it was his arrogance that threw you off or if it was the fact that he had everything that you wanted, but most importantly he had Solandis' approval.

"Comparing yourself to Raihan will get you nowhere girl. Rather than focusing on him, you really should be focusing yourself."

You looked down, at a loss of words. Deino sensed your despair and nuzzled your leg at an attempt to comfort you. Solandis walks ahead of you, heading in the direction of where Hop lived. With the dragon breeder out of earshot, you kneeled down at patted the top of Deino's head.

"If you ever decide that you'd rather go back and live with Solandis, then I'll allow it-"

The small dragon pokemon, tackles you causing you to loose your balance. You fall over on your back and Deino headbutts your head, as his own personal way of letting you know that he wasn't leaving.

"Suit yourself, but I warned you. Now let's go catch up with Solandis." You say

You get up and head in the direction that you saw Solandis walk to. You come across a large bricked house, with a battle arena on the side. Hop runs over to you, giving you a wide smile despite having grown tired of waiting for you.

"You do sure take your time, don't cha mate?"

You ignore Hop's remark and instead walk over to where Leon stood next to Solandis. He opens his mouth to say something to you, but you cut him off by pulling out the money that you had stolen from him. He looks at you in complete shock, but you look away in shame. Though not because you stole from him but because now you'd have to go back to picking enough scraps for Deino and you to get by.

"You stole from me? I don't understand-"

"Are you seriously telling me that you didn't even notice?!" You frustratingly ask.

"Hey! How dare you steal from Lee?!" Hop asks

"I clearly needed the money more than he did because apparently he didn't even notice that I stole from him with several witnesses in broad daylight." You hiss

"Then why give the money back?" Leon asks

"Don't make a big deal out of it! You should be grateful that I even returned it in the first place." You snap

"What you did was wrong, you should be locked up for stealing from the Champion." Hop says, crossing his arms.

"Watch it fetus!" You growl out, pointing a finger at him.

"Fetus?! I'm not that much older than you- Lee why are you smiling?"

You turn to Leon and sure enough he was smiling down at the two of you. Solandis, bore a look of amusement next to him. You give her a questioning look, but she only brushes you off so that Leon could tell you himself.

"I'm not going to turn you in." Leon states

"What?!" Both you and Hop ask in unison.

"It was very noble of you to return the money that you stole from me. I would like-"

"I'm going to have to stop you right there Champ, I'm gonna head out before you turn your back on me and actually call the cops." You say

"(Y/N), you really should at least hear Leon out fully." Solandis says

"Don't want to, I've already made up my mind."

You give Leon a two finger salute, before you and Deino run off. Hop calls out after you for a battle, even after you had stolen from his big brother.

"Is she always like this?" Leon asks

Solandis lightly chuckles. "A wild girl like that can never stay in one place for too long, but she's sure to come back. That is if she feels free enough to return."

Leon stays silent, pondering over Solandis' words. A part of him believed that they were meant for him, but another part believed that the wise woman was just speaking from experience. Hop looks up at his older brother, wondering what his next move would be. Though he didn't get to delve deeper into his thoughts, as Garchomp ran towards them.

"What is it Garchomp?" Solandis asks

Garchomp frantically points off in the direction of a forbidden area.

"She's gone into the Slumbering Weald!" Solandis exclaims Garchomp nods in confirmation.

"I have to go after her." She says

Leon puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll go and bring her back." Leon intervenes

Solandis nods slowly and Leon takes off to find you.

° ° °

Deep in the Slumbering Weald, you and Deino make your way through the fog. Though with the thick fog surrounding the area, you were about as blind as your partner pokemon. Since you weren't a native to the Galar region, you didn't have a clue of the stories that were told of the weald. A cyan dog like creature appeared out of nowhere, it had one of it's ears chopped in half, but with the fog that was all that you were able to see.

"(Y/N)?!"

"Leon?"

Leon comes into view, his Charizard following after him. You didn't understand what was happening or why Leon would come risk going to find you after what you had done to him. It just didn't click with you. Leon saw the unknown pokemon and although he wanted to get a closer look at it, he kept his distance.

"Charizard use fire blast!"

Charizard released it's fiery attack and landed a direct hit on the opposing pokemon. But nothing happened. You and Leon gapped in shock at it's immunity. This time Leon commanded Charizard to use ancient power, but again the other pokemon did not seem to affected. It howled and the fog only thickened, causing you to loose sight of everything around you. The unknown pokemon let out an attack of it's own, but it wasn't directed at either Charizard or Leon. The attack was for you. Shielding Deino, you ducked and closed your eyes, waiting for the impact.

"(Y/N)!"

Leon ran to you, shielding you with his own body. However, the attack never came because Charizard had taken the attack himself. Another howl was heard and like the previous time, the fog further clouded the area until you could no longer see anything at all. With that you slipped into an unconscious state as did Leon, who layed besides you before he blacked out.


	4. II : Birdie

_"I ain't your prisoner. You can't lock me up no more. I'll show you what I'm worth. Take back what I deserve."_

**《☆☆☆》**

_"I don't work for you which means that you have no say in what I do and don't do."_

_"I want that Solgaleo!"_

_"What's the problem Hades? You finally realized that money can't buy you everything you want in life?" You ask, taunting the tall man._

_"It can buy a theif."_

_"I'm not a thief anymore, I gave that up."_

_The raven haired man faked an exaggerated laugh. Hades was the type of man that you wished you would have never met. But bad men like him came with the job quite often. A job that you longed to get rid of, amongst other things, but you just couldn't. You had initially met Hades through your boss, who had assigned you to steal the eon duo, latios and latias. Which you had later learned that Hades only wanted the duo to auction off to others with malicious intents like him. And when he found himself wanting another pokemon to sell, the raven haired man always found himself coming back to your boss, just so that you'd be assigned to steal for him again. The latest steal was Lunala, which is why Hades found himself wanting you to now steal it's shining counterpart Solgaleo. An auction with the main attractions being the sun and moon duo would draw a large crowd and Hades knew that. He was a wicked man and that paired well with his intelligence. He knew exactly what he was doing._

_"And how did J take the news of your departure?" Hades asks_

_You shrug nonchalantly. "J doesn't tell me what to do, not anymore."_

_"Right... because it's you who's in charge of your life. You make the decisions. Now if I remember correctly and please correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it you who sought out Hunter J? Am I wrong about that?"_

_"N-n-no." You stutter_

_"With that said, you voluntarily allowed yourself to be taken under Hunter J's wing. She taught you everything that you know, but of course the pupil one day surpasses their instructor. Even before then you knew what you were getting yourself into by becoming a theif. And you knew that if there ever came a day in which you wanted the leave the job, that the only way out would be for you to give up the ghost. Still you chose to become a thief, isn't that right?"_

_You don't answer, knowing that he was right. When you had become a theif, you knew what you were getting yourself into. But you didn't do it for yourself, it was for your parents and at that point you didn't care what happened to you so long as you could support them. As a thief, it was till death do you part. Hades grips your wrist with his gloved hand, applying pressure and twisting it behind your back. His other hand, took a blade and placed the cold metal against your neck. You look up meeting his eyes in the mirror that was before you._

_"That wasn't a rhetorical question."_

_"Y-ou're r-right."_

_He relents and let's you go, a proud smirk gracing his features._

_"Of course I am! With that being said though, I hope you've learned your lesson my dear. One does not simply quit on me, especially not someone as important as yourself."_

_Hades smiles down at you and reaches into his blazer. You close your eyes out of fear, until you feel Hades slip something on your face. Cautiously you open your eyes and turn to the mirror, a mask covered the upper part of your face. You tentatively traced your fingerprints across the elegant pattern._

_"Be quick to bring me my Solgaleo and at the auction wear the mask, you'll be presenting the sun and moon. Though I'm a man of my word, I'll keep your identity a secret which will allow for you to continue entering contests."_

_You stare at your reflection, horrified at what stared back at you. A single tear rolled down your (e/c) hues. This wasn't you, but if Hades wanted to, he'd make you believe otherwise._

_"It's astonishing how much you can hide with such a simple mask."_

_As stated before, Hades was clever and he knew exactly what he was doing. After all, manipulation was one of his many skills._

**° ° °**

"(Y/N)?"

"Come on, wake up."

You slowly open your eyes to see Leon staring back at you.

"Leon?"

He nods, holding your hand in his while keeping you steady with his other arm. Realizing that your head was on his lap, you quickly sit up ignoring the pain that you felt on your side immediately after. Deino stood off to the side with Charizard, he comes running towards you after hearing you speak.

"Are you okay?" Leon asks, helping you up on your feet.

"As good as I'll ever be..." You mutter

"Why did you go into the Slumbering Weald?"

"Why did you follow me into the Slumbering Weald?"

"To save you-"

"Well, I didn't need your help Champ!" You spat out

"I didn't mean it like that, it's just that the Slumbering Weald is a forbidden area for a reason. Though now it's clear to me why that is so." Leon says

"What was that thing?" You ask

"I don't know. I've never seen or heard about that pokemon ever."

"Well, this has been fun, but I think I'm gonna go now!"

You do your two fingered salute, but Leon grabs your wrist before you could put your hand down. The purple haired male towered over you to which you retaliated by grabbing a hold of his jersey with your other hand.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

You growl out, inching your face close to Leon's. He let's go of you and steps back, trying to keep a respectable distance in between the two of you. The Champion apologizes to you repeatedly, noticing that he had struck a nerve.

"Just forget about it, I'm out of here. Let's go Deino."

Deino follows after you, but stops in it's tracks. You too stop and look back at Deino. You call out to him and the small dragon pokemon follows the sound of your voice.

"Wait!"

You don't turn back to look at Leon, but you stop once more letting him know to continue.

"Let me endorse you!"

"What?" You ask, turning to look at him.

"I want-"

"Stop. I heard you the first time, I was just shocked to hear you say that." You say

"Would you allow me to endorse you?" Leon asks

"I'm not a trainer... not anymore..." You mumble, looking down at the ground.

"This could give you a fresh start-"

"Why?"

"Excuse me?" Leon questions, confused by your question.

"Why me? I'm not even a pokemon trainer. You've got so many people who are probably dying to get an endorsement and you're here wasting one on me. Me out of all people?"

"This could be your fresh start."

Memories of that terrible day came flooding back. You had lost a lot more than your parents that day. And the thought of becoming a pokemon trainer again absolutely terrified you. Deino was stubborn enough to join you, but you still feared that one day you'd open your eyes and he'd be gone like the others. And now Leon was offering you an endorsement, he was giving you another chance. That's how it had all happened in the first place and you didn't think you could bare to history repeat itself. You barely made it out the first time, but you escaped with ghosts that now tormented you in your mind. You just couldn't take that endorsement.

"-and I think that you have potential to become a great trainer. That pokemon showed itself to you for a reason and I would like to think that it's because it saw something in you too."

You blinked back in shock. While you may not have heard the first portion of his speech, his words brought you a sort of comfort. You weren't used to receiving compliments and yet here Leon was complimenting you as if he had known you for years. You thought it was nice to receive compliments, but you bit your bottom lip to resist the smile that was lurking. Leon on the other hand, sheepishly smiled once he had stopped his rambling.

"Sorry about that, I got carried away."

"It's okay..." You mumble, growing flustered.

"So, will you accept my endorsement?" He asks You nod slowly.

"I just have one condition."

"Which is?"

You name your condition and Leon nods, agreeing to your term. With that, the Champion leads you out of the Slumbering Weald, which later would result in you leading the way after you discovered that he is terrible with directions. You two stop at the wooden gate that Leon closes after you two have passed the threshold.

"I'll meet you in Turrfield to give you your endorsement letter then." Leon says

You nod and watch as Leon sprints away after saying his goodbyes.

You sigh. "Now to find some shelter for the night... I really should have kept that idiot's money..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The team has already been decided, so expect a reveal to come soon. I tried my best to follow through with the main requests that I got (off of three different sites), but if your favorite pokemon didn't get chosen this time around, do not worry. There will be several opportunities later on.


	5. III : Beautiful Ghosts《Part One》

**"Should I take chances when no one took chances on me? So I watch from the dark, wait for my life to start With no beauty in my memory."**

**《☆☆☆》**

_You pulled on the hem of one of your white silk gloves, pulling it up as it had previously been slowly slipping. Tonight was the night of the lunar solar auction and you couldn't be any more nervous. You ran your hands through the skirt of the long elegant (f/c) dress to smooth out any wrinkles that the dress could have had. Though you knew it had none because it was provided to you by Hades, but you still ran your hands through in an attempt to try to calm your raging nerves._

_"It's time." Hades says, before taking his place up on the stage._

_"Okay..." You mumble timidly._

_You peaked through the red curtains and catch sight of the crowd and the large domes holding both Lunala and Solgaleo trapped, frozen to stone by J's mechanics. The small scale on the bottom, if moved to the right then they'd be free from their frozen state, but that wouldn't happen. If you even tried, you knew that Hades would kill you on the spot. He signals for you and you slowly join him on stage, looking down as you do. The bright lights blinding you temporarily, as you look up._

_"And with me tonight my lovely assistant my Illusionist, the beautiful Mirage!"_

_Hades gestures towards you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders as he nears. He lightly touches the masquerade mask he gave you and turns in your direction._

_"Don't you dare try anything, be a good girl and smile for the audience." He whispers menacingly._

_Hades leaves your side and makes his say over to Solgaleo with every intention of bragging about their capture. You on the other hand do your best to give the crowd a dazzling smile, just as you've been told to do. Hades strides over to the podium, giving you your signal to make your way towards the sun pokemon. You smile and gesture towards the dual psychic steel type, but in reality it pained you that Solgaleo and Lunala would join the ranks of all previous mythical pokemon before them that you had captured for Hades to do with as he pleases._

_"How about we start off the bid at 1,000,000 poke dollars?" Hades asks, smirking._

° ° °

"Tomorrow we're expected to register in this stupid challenge." You tell Deino.

Deino walks at your side, as the two of you venture inside the Galar mine. Because you didn't have any money, it was very common of the two of you to sleep in caves and mines. Wild pokemon were a problem, but you and Deino had already figured out how to deal with them while you slept. You would take the first watch and Deino would take the second. However, because Deino was still in his first evolutionary stage that meant that he needed all the rest that he could get and on most days, you didn't bother to wake him up so that he could sleep properly. Unfortunately, that meant that you were sleep deprived, which was pretty normal at this point. Since the incident with Hades, you've never slept properly again.

"Are you hungry Deino?" You ask

Deino cries out in joy, as you pull out the berries that remained that you had stolen earlier. You and Deino sit down in a secluded corner of the mines and the two of you begin to share the berries.

"There's a few more than we had earlier since I stole a few from that strange Hop kid." You snicker

Deino hisses in disapproval.

"It's okay! It's not like I left the fetus hungry, plus his brother is the champion, it's not like he'll ever go hungry like us." You mutter, taking a bite out of oran berry.

You hear a flap of wings getting near, you flinch beginning to think that it was a Corviknight. Deino turns, hearing the sound, but as he was distracted a berry was snatched from him. You open your eyes and see a Noibat, gobbling up the berry that it had stolen while Deino was distracted. Angered by Noibat's actions, Deino fires a dragon pulse at the small bat. Though Noibat swiftly moves out of the way, using it's impressive speed to it's advantage. Deino charges up another dragon pulse, but before it can fire, you rush over and get in between the two pokemon.

"Deino, there's no need to fight." You say

Deino tilts his head in confusion.

"Noibat is just hungry like we are, it's struggling to get by just like we are..." You mumble

You grab one of the berries that you had and reached out towards Noibat. But the bat pokemon felt hesitant to trust you, which you knew about the possibility of that happening since it was a wild pokemon. Noibat slowly flew in your direction, when you made no move to do anything to it, Noibat grabbed the berry in his mouth and quickly flew off to the side to eat. You took your seat and resumed eating with Deino. A few minutes passed and Noibat began hovering over the two of you, before it planted itself on top of your head. Which was completely the opposite of what you wanted since you weren't very keen of wanting others to travel with you. Then again there was a reason why people were warned about not feeding wild pokemon. Still you offered Noibat one last berry as Deino curled up to go to sleep. Noibat took the berry in his little fangs and munched on it quietly. Meanwhile, you packed everything that you had and prepared for your shift. 

° ° °

When morning came, you and Deino exited the mines and made your way towards Motostoke city to officially register. You thought it was a stupid idea and you still couldn't believe that you were actually going to go through with it. There was no reason for you to join the gym challenge, after all you're not even a trainer and you certainly didn't have an interest in becoming champion. If you left now and headed to another region to hide, nobody would know. It's not like Leon would care, you had guessed that by now he had forgotten your name. As you reached Motostoke, you had made up your mind to leave Galar.

"(Y/N)! There you are!"

Leon runs towards you, almost engulfing you into a hug, but he stops himself when you growl at him. He sheepishly takes a step back and scratches the back of his neck, smiling at you nevertheless.

"Right... we'll work on that. Anyways, I wanted to meet with you to give you your endorsement." Leon says, pulling out the endorsement letter.

When you don't answer right away, Leon looks behind you and sees Noibat, who had followed you all the way from the mines.

"Wicked! You got yourself a Noibat! It'll be a great help-"

As Leon continues to talk about whatever it was that he was going on about, you turn around and see Noibat. Your eyes widen in shock, you had thought about the possibility of Noibat following you, but you hadn't anticipated that it really would in fact follow you.

"Is something wrong?" Leon asks

"Nope! Actually... I don't think that I'd be a good fit for this whole gym challenge. I know that you have this sort of blind faith, but I don't know if becoming a trainer is what's best for me-"

"(Y/N), I know that you're scared to begin a new journey especially in a new region-"

"I. Am. Not. Scared." You state firmly

But you were.

"I wouldn't have asked to endorse you if I didn't think that there was something special in you to begin with. I know that I can't force you into doing the gym challenge, but I think you should give it a shot. If so, here's the letter I promised you." Leon says, handing you the endorsement letter.

"And if not?" You ask, grabbing the letter.

"If not, then I would hope that you'd keep in touch."

You snort. "Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that the champion of Galar wants to keep in touch with a lowlife thief like me? You'll forget about me soon enough Champ."

You stash the letter in your bag and walk away from the champion, the two dragon pokemon following after you. Leon watches you go and sighs. He didn't want to see such wasted potential die like that, but he knew that he couldn't force you to participate.

"(Y/N)! Wait!" Leon calls out, running after you.

You stop and roll your eyes, as Leon runs to catch up with you. He stops in front of you and digs within his pockets.

"Here, I want you to have this." Leon says, pulling out the money that you had stolen from him.

"Why are you giving this to me?" Your brows furrow in confusion, as you grab the money.

"You stole it from me fair and square, it's yours." Leon says

"Thanks..." You mutter, unsure of what else to do or say.

"No problem! Take care (Y/N)..."

You put away the money, but you're still trying to process the fact that Leon willingly gave you the money that you had stolen from him. It was a pretty impressive amount and it was enough to get you and Deino by. However, the satisfaction that you felt when you had initially stolen the money was no longer there. It had been replaced with guilt from having failed Leon in joining the gym challenge which then unintentionally led to guilt tripping Leon into giving you back the money that you had stolen from him.

You walked off for a bit, before finding a bench to sit at. Deino sensing your inner turmoil, placed his head on your knee in an attempt to offer comfort while Noibat perched itself on your head once again. You sigh and pat Deino on top of his head, appreciating his effort. However, your thoughts drifted back to your current situation. Thinking back, doing these kinds of things with your pokemon interested you, but ever since that night when your parents died, you couldn't even think about being a trainer again. And yet, here was Leon trying to give you a fresh new start. But you were scared, even if you told Leon that you weren't, the truth was that you were. There were so many things that could go wrong and you didn't want to put anyone at risk with your baggage. The gym challenge sounded like it could be a fresh start for you, but you weren't sure if you should risk it and take chances. Because if there was one thing that you learned from the whole Hades ordeal is that, when everything began to look up for you there was always a shadow lurking, ready to turn everything around for you.

"Hey mate!"

"What do you want fetus?" You ask

"I'm not a fetus!" Hop exclaims

You raise a brow.

"Okay, fine. I wanted to apologize for what I said yesterday." Hop says

"Is that all?" You ask

"Actually... I was wondering if you've considered staying in Galar?" Hop asks

"That's what I'm having trouble with..." You mumble

"What's there to think about?! There's so much to do here! And you haven't explored any of it yet, if I were you I would stay a while and check things out. Plus if you stay long enough, you can see me beat Lee for his title." Hop says

"Hmm... and what makes you think that it'll be you against your brother?" You ask

"I know my brother best and if anyone's going to beat him, it'll be me." Hop confidently says

"Whatever you say-"

"Besides... my brother sees something in you and I want you to stick around long enough for me to figure out what it is." Hop says

You ponder Hop's words long enough, that by the time you can form a response, he's long gone. If you being completely honest, you weren't sure what Leon thought was special about you, but you wanted to stick around long enough to find out what it is.

"Come on Deino, we're entering that gym challenge, but... our first stop has to be to get our new friend a pokeball." You say, looking up at Noibat.

Noibat and Deino both cry out in agreement with you, as you stand up to head to the pokemon center.

° ° °

After successfully capturing Noibat, you walked into the Motostoke stadium. You tried not to look like an outsider, so you had to hold in the urge to look around in awe. You've fought in gyms before, but it was never like this. You walk up to reception and begin the process of registration by handing the receptionist your endorsement letter.

"You're being endorsed by the Champion?" She asks, taking a moment to look you up and down.

When she looks down at the computer, you take a moment to glare at her. And if looks could kill, she'd been dead already.

"It says you've already been registered by the Champion, you can just head to the locker room. Everything you need is already there, courtesy of Champion Leon." She says

You glare at her one last time, before following her directions. You enter the locker room to find it empty, it was strange, but you weren't about to question it just yet. The light flickers a few times until it turns off completely. You try to look around, but you couldn't see anything. All that you could feel was an odd presence pass by beside you and then you hear a voice that sent literal chills through you.

"You... You're the one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for having neglected this story for a while, but I am slowly trying to bring this back especially with these hard times among us.   
> Which actually have been the reason why I haven't been updating anything since I am a first responder. Anyways, I hope that you and your loved ones are well. Please stay safe and remember to stay in doors and wash your hands. :)


	6. IV : Dark Lady

**"Dark lady played black magic till the clock struck on the twelve. She told me more about me than I knew myself"**

**《☆☆☆》**

"Who's there?" You ask in the sudden darkness.

The lights flicker on and off, but you see no trace of anyone else in the locker room. Your first thought was that this was just some sick prank and if it was, the one pranking you would be sent to the hospital. Suddenly the lights were turned on and a familiar dark figure stood before you. Your eyes widened in horror recognizing Hades' form. You stumble back, falling to the ground causing the raven haired man to laugh as you scoot backwards away from him.

"Did you really think you could escape from me?" Hades asks

"Leave me alone!" You yell

Your back makes contact with the wall, keeping you trapped between it and Hades. He snickers and strides over to you as the room is engulfed in flames. Tears begin to pool in your eyes, the memories of that day coming back to you all at once.

"No, I'm going to make you suffer for everything that you did to me." He snarls, getting at eye level with you.

"Your fear makes you weak." A new voice speaks up.

The flames surrounding you diminish, but the locker room continues to burn around you. The illusion of Hades fades and a woman takes his place. She wore a black dress that matched her dark charcoal colored hair and her eyes were a peculiar dull shade of purple with swirls in her eyes rather than pupils. Though that was odd what scared you the most about the mysterious woman was that her feet did not touch the ground.

"Who are you?" You ask, standing up.

"You are the one..." She mumbles

"What?"

A Giratina morphs from the flames, crying out in rage from the confines of the chains that held it in place. You remember that hunt, it was the last one that you had been to before you decided to leave your thievery ways behind. You desperately tried to free Giratina, but that day you had been caught by Hades before you could free the renegade pokemon. You felt guilt wash over you for failing Giratina, a feeling that only intensified due to it's unknown fate. Reaching out, you place a hand on one of Giratina's horns.

"I'm sorry..." You whisper, resting your forehead against it.

A single tear runs down your cheek, as you pull away from the fiery illusion of the pokemon. Suddenly you're dragged back by the woman's Dusknoir and pulled towards the ghostly woman's cauldron. She "stood" on the opposite side from you with her Ghastly and Chandelure, as her Dusknoir joined their side again. Before you could ask what she wanted from you, she dips her hand in the hot mixture swirling it around. You try to back up, but feel something wrap around your leg. Looking down you see a Mimikyu already looking up at you.

"You need to shape up if you're going to stay alive." She says

You glare at her. "I don't need anyone's help to stay-"

"(Y/N), becoming the villain isn't going to solve anything!"

"Dawn?" You mumble, recognizing her voice instantly.

"Is that what you think I am?" Your past self asked her.

The cauldron displays the flashback of the day that you had your big fight with Dawn. She reached out to you trying to hug you from behind, but you didn't allow it walking further away from her.

"Of course not! But what you're doing is wrong. I can help you (Y/N), just let me." Dawn pleaded, her bluebell eyes welling up with tears.

"No! I have to do this, I have nothing else to lose."

"But how could you know about this?" You ask

She laughs. "Because you're the one."

"That doesn't explain anything!" You growl

"You'll know soon enough if you choose to stay, but my advice is that you leave this place-"

"Why? What happens if I leave?" You ask

"If you leave, it'll devastate Leon and the poor chap will turn for comfort in the arms of the siren. She alone will bring him to ruin. Break a heart into too many pieces and it will weaken enough that it may shatter..."

"What are you trying to say about Leon and I?"

"If you stay, you'll figure it out for yourself." Is all she says, taking her hand out of the cauldron.

You watch as the image of Dawn fades away, being replaced with that of a dark red cloud circling around and around. You weren't a native of Galar, but if someone from Galar were to see the cloud, it could easily have been identified as the darkest day.

"If you stay it is possible for the light to greet you... but the darkness that is to come may swallow you both."

The red cloud from the cauldron rises up and from it takes the form of Hades. You're towered over and fall back, as the ghostly woman warns you to forget her face. Spooked by the revelations and memories you longed to forget, you retreat to the corner of the room and unconsciously let out a scream. The locker room grows quiet, everything returning to normal. The doors are burst open and Leon runs in, but you're too paralyzed to notice.

"What happened? Are you alright?!" Leon urgently asks

You were leaning against the corner of the wall, your face growing pale little by little. Your fists are clenched, digging your fingernails into your palms subconsciously due to the ongoing fear and dread in the air. Leon runs to your side and gently takes your hands in his own. His voice is soothing and filled with concern, but you don't hear anything that he says, your mind blocking out his words completely. The words spoken by the ghostly woman still consumed your thoughts.

_'I have nothing else to lose!'_

_'The darkness that is to come may swallow you both.'_

_'My advice is that you leave this place-'_

"(Y/N)!"

You snap out of your thoughts and make eye contact with Leon. You feel him grabbing your hands and quickly pull them out of his grip.

"Sorry about that mate, I forgot-"

"Where is she?" You ask

"Who?" Leon asks

"The woman that entered the locker room! I came in to look for my uniform and she came in after me. It was really weird, the lights went off and she started to say all these things about me. It was unnerving." You say, not going into specifics.

Leon's brows furrow. "But you're okay, right?"

"I'll manage I always do..."

"Do you know what she looked like?" Leon asks

"She was some sort of hex maniac but..."

You trail off, trying to rack your brain for the answer to Leon's question. But no matter how hard you tried to remember how the woman looked like, your mind couldn't paint the picture of her appearance.

"I don't know." You say, your brows scrunching in confusion.

"Don't worry about it, I'll have security amped up next time. And we'll make sure that everyone in the stadiums actually belongs there." Leon says

You nod, taking a seat on one of the benches. "Umm... you can leave now. I have to get ready, so you don't have to worry about me freaking out again."

"There's no need for that, you already missed the opening ceremony."

You sigh and look down at the floor, placing your hands on the side of your face, your elbows resting on your knees. You take a deep breath and exhale, mentally preparing yourself to have Leon screaming at you for missing the opening ceremony. But he doesn't. The champion takes a seat next to you, but leaves some space in between you two so that he doesn't crowd you.

"You can yell if you want..." You murmur

"Why would I yell at you? (Y/N) you didn't do anything wrong, I'm still endorsing you. Missing the opening ceremony is no big deal-"

"Why?" You ask quietly Leon glances at you.

"I believe that you have the potential to be the greatest, I'd be a shame if you didn't at least try to unlock that potential."

You stay quiet, your eyes beginning to tear up.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Here's your uniform, I had it customized to fit your alias."

You raise your head and turn to look at the purple haired champion, his golden orbs locking with your bright teary-eyed (e/c) hues. Leon's brows furrowed and his irises broadened slightly. You look at him, taking the uniform from his hands, clutching it tightly in your own and forcing your gaze to leave his immediately after.

_'Why is he being so nice?'_ You mentally asked yourself.

Leon was no Hades, but still a part of you couldn't stop seeing the latter whenever you looked at the champion. They were completely two different people, but no matter how much kindness Leon showed you, the connections between him and Hades were still made unconsciously. Though you wanted to believe that Leon was different, it all seemed to good to be true. He was too kind and welcoming despite your rough start, now he was being considerate when you messed up. Leon even went as far as agreeing to your terms and getting you made a custom uniform that you didn't even ask for. Because after all, that's how it always started... When your work began for Hades, he too was kind and considerate when you met. He understood your terms and patiently waited as you worked at your own pace. In the beginning, Hades would even tend to your wounds, if you had any, when you returned after catching the mythical pokemon he wanted then. Hades being the man that he was, showered you with gifts at the beginning of your partnership. But then everything changed... What was once beautiful had turned corrupt. With every successful capture, Hades would only grow more and more hostile. His need for more rare pokemon becoming a burning insatiable desire to further increase his power and wealth. Suddenly, your injuries were no longer his concern and charming words turned into bitter insults to boost his ego.

He was an absolute monster!

The more you thought about it, the more tears threatened to escape your eyes. But crying was a sign of weakness, something you had learned from Hades, and you didn't want to seem weak in front of Leon. It would only prompt him to think that you really were the weakling that you believe everyone else saw.

"Is something wrong?" Leon asks

"No... it's okay. I just got a bit emotional, the uniform looks nice by the way."

"No problem! Though, there is one last thing that I got you, if you don't mind." Leon says

Before you could deny any more gifts, a pokeball was held out for you to grab. You examine the sphere, noticing the pokeball in Leon's hands being different from the regular white and red design. Wiping away the tears in your eyes, you tentatively reach out for the pokeball. Just before you grab it, you stop, expecting Leon to pull the pokeball away from your reach. Noticing that you needed a push, Leon took a hold of your hand. This time you let him hold on, watching as the exchange of the pokeball from his hand to yours. You pull away from him soon after, with the intention of releasing the pokemon to see what it was, but Leon stops you with the sound of his voice.

"You should wait until you make it to Turffield to see what it is." Leon smiles

"Umm... okay." You mumble, putting the pokeball away.

Leon opens his mouth to say something else, but he is caught off by the sound of his rotom phone ringing. He excuses himself to take the call, promising to return to you momentarily. Taking advantage of the call, you quickly pack your things and run out of the locker room before Leon could finish his call.

_'It's not fair to him, but I can't risk it. Not after everything that's happened.'_

Leon returns after finishing his call to see you and your belongings gone.

"Did I do something wrong?" Leon asks himself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> v : after your battle at turffield, you come across your new rival and the chairman of the galar region himself
> 
> I'd also love to thank you all for being patient with me, I know I don't update a lot but I committed to finishing this story. Unfortunately, work keeps me busy most of the time. So, I hope that you all understand. :)


	7. V : Popular

"Boys and girls pretend to know me they try so hard And I get what I want my name is my credit card Don't try to hate me because I am so pop pop ular pop pop ular"

《☆☆☆》

"So... you're the one they call the Illusionist?" Nessa asks, looking at you and up and down.

You had been the recent talk all over Galar with your stellar debut at the Turffield stadium. To keep your identity safe, since you were supposed to be dead, you adopted the alias of The Illusionist. A tribute to your newest team member Zorua, who was the pokemon gifted to you by Leon, it only seemed fitting since Zorua were known to change their appearance due to their timid personality. Per your request, your uniform matched up pretty well with Zorua, it came in red and had decorative claw marks printed on throughout various different parts of the uniform. Besides the change in your uniform, you wore a wig of a different color from your natural hair and a red transparent cape similar to the one that's worn by Caitlin of the Unova elite four. However, what really caught everyone's attention is that your face was covered by a Zoroark mask.

You don't say anything to Nessa, meeting her halfway in the middle of the pitch. She eyes you closely having heard about you from poor Milo who you had already caught off guard. The others would at least know to expect you soon, but even then you were quite unpredictable in the eyes of the gym leaders and the people of Galar. You turn your back on the indigo haired gym leader and walk back to your spot opposite of her's on the pitch. Nessa is left taken aback by you, she regains composure a few seconds later walking back to her side of the pitch. She grabs a dive ball and kicks up her leg, releasing her goldeen. You grab your own pokeball and release Noibat, he looks back at you and you nod in response.

"You may have the first move, but don't think we'll hold back on you after that." Nessa says

Several Noibats rush forward, as the original multiplied using double team. Nessa grits her teeth watching as you gave commands without speaking.

"Goldeen, use water pulse on the clones to find the real Noibat."

Goldeen uses water pulse, attacking the Noibat clones that surrounded it with a pulsing blast of water. One by one the clones began to disappear. Behind Goldeen the real Noibat prepared to attack with air cutter. Nessa called out for Goldeen to dodge, but was late in doing so causing her pokemon to get hit with the razor like winds produced by Noibat. Goldeen crashed to the ground, fainting upon impact. As the goldfish pokemon was declared unable to battle, Nessa recalled them back to their pokeball. She grabbed another dive ball, releasing her second pokemon, an Arrokuda.

"Arrokuda, use aqua jet!" 

**°°°**

With Oleana and Rose gone for the meantime, Leon was left behind in Wyndon getting ready to shoot an advertisement for one of his many sponsors. They'd usually be here with him, but Rose was heading off to his favourite restaurant in Hulbury. While the rest of the crew was busy preparing everything for the ad, Leon had some downtime to watch your battle against Nessa on the telly. He watched as you dominated the battle in the same way that you had against Milo.

"Isn't she just great Charizard?! I'm sure she'll make it to the champion cup and who knows maybe we'll end up battling (Y/N)." Leon says

Charizard watched as his trainer's golden eyes shined like the sun, something that happened less and less as the years passed by. Even Leon began taking notice of it, but he wasn't sure as to why. Sure he's met several trainers with the potential to be great, but something was different about you and he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Though one thing was clear, nobody had ever attempted to steal from him before and you got away with it in broad daylight. Had it not been for Solandis, he still wouldn't know about it.

Leon softly chuckled at the thought. But on a more serious note, you were like him too. In your eyes he saw the same sadness and loss that shined in his golden orbs. The only difference was that he masked his sorrows with a smile while you choosed to hide your's beneath a scowl. He wondered what it was that made you so hostile towards him and everyone else. Your last meeting left a bad taste in Leon's mouth, all he wanted was to help you but you were dead set on wanting nothing to do with him. However, the feeling wasn't mutual because Leon was determined to help you in any way that he could.

The battle on the telly kept raging on as Noibat used it's fangs to bite down Arrokuda using the attack super fang. The rush pokemon falls down, fainting in the process of having the last remaining energy being taken away by the move super fang. Now that Nessa was down to her last pokemon, Leon knew what was coming next, his absolute favourite part of pokemon battles in the Galar region.

"Champion Leon, we're ready to start filming." A member of the crew says, from the other side of the door.

"Right... of course. I'll be right out." Leon assures He turns off the telly and turns to face the mirror in the room. The unbeatable champion smiles wide in the front of the mirror mentally preparing himself for what was to come. 

**°°°**

Nessa releases her Drednaw while you return Noibat to it's pokeball. You take out the pokeball that Leon gave you the other day and release Zorua, who uses his illusion ability to appear like another Noibat. You call back your Zorua to it's pokeball and with the use of the dynamax band, the pokeball grows to massive size. You throw the pokeball forward releasing Zorua. Using it's ability to appear as Noibat, Nessa felt confident in her dynamaxed Drednaw scoring the victory against your pokemon.

Zorua attacks first using the move max knuckle, catching Nessa, Drednaw, and the crowd off guard from the usage of a fighting move. Nessa freezes in place allowing her pokemon to get hit from the lack of comand. She rubs her hair furiously, no matter what she throws at you, you were always two steps ahead.

"Max rockfall!"

Confident in your pokemon's ability to take a hit, you let Nessa's pokemon land this one move knowing all too well that it wasn't going to be super effective like she was anticipating. Your pokemon is pushed back by the impact of the dynamax, but is quick to get back up. Zorua reveals it's illusion, the crowd falls silent soon after before erupting into a frenzy. The tricky fox has a mischievous glint in his sky blue hues with the intent of ending the battle early. One more max knuckle is enough to bring down Nessa's last pokemon. Drednaw minimizes back to it's original size and goes back into it's pokeball. Returning Zorua back to it's pokeball, you wait until later to celebrate your victory with your team.

You meet Nessa halfway in the middle of the pitch, but this time as the victor and not the challenger. She gives you your earned badge and the two of you shake hands. You immediately pull away from her and walk away from the indigo haired gym leader. Though Nessa's next words stop you in your tracks just as you've nearly reached the exit.

"I plan to challenge you to a rematch one day and this time I'll be ready for you."

You smile underneath your mask and bring up your hand up and give her a small wave in acknowledgement.

After your victory, you quickly change back into your regular clothes and stuff your uniform and dynamax band into your bag. You walk out of the stadium appearing to everyone like a fan rather than a challenger. But just to be sure, you try to put as much distance as you can between you and the Hulbury stadium. Unfortunately, you don't get that far as you accidentally bump into someone.

The beautiful blonde scrunches up her face in disgust, recognizing you instantly as the one who she encountered on the plane. She gives you a look, her crystal clear blue eyes taking in your appearance up from down. You briefly do the same noticing that her waist long hair was cut in layers and dyed pink at the tips that matched with her blazer. Blonde bangs were swept to the left, but you could still see her perfectly arched eyebrows. You could tell her clothing was designer complementing her fair tone flawlessly, but that golden necklace stood out for itself. A clear indication that she came from money, a luxury that you've never had.

"Ugh! I assumed you would be locked up by now street rat." She hisses

"Well, you assumed incorrectly. What did you expect? For me to get arrested for stealing something that grows out of trees?" You ask

Her blue eyes dart down, to the rotom phone in your grasp. "Did you steal that too? Typical... this would never stand back home in Kalos." She says

"So, you're from Kalos-"

"Born and raised in Kalos and the current reigning Kalos Queen, Griselda Delaney. I would say it's a pleasure, but you're no one of importance." She cringes

"Oh, really? I was going to say the same about you because you're kidding yourself if you actually think that title means anything outside of the Kalos region." You say

Griselda's left eye twitches, anger bubbling up inside of her. You see the dynamax band around her right wrist, a signal that she was participating in the gym challenge. If she was able to hold her own in battle, you'd be forced to see more of her throughout your journey. You could possibly even end up battling against each other in the champion cup assuming either of you makes it that far. Sylveon looked up at her trainer, sensing Griselda's strong negative emotions, one of her ribbons wraps around her wrist to calm her down.

"Would you butt out!" She bellows at the eeveelution.

"Hey! You can talk to me however you'd like, but you can't treat your pokemon like that." You say, glaring at her.

"Don't tell me what to do! I'd sooner take advice from the garbage than you, so save it for someone who cares!" Griselda growls

"Miss Delaney, it's a pleasure to meet with you. I apologize to leave you waiting, but I couldn't leave my fans hanging." Chairman Rose says, walking over to the two of you with Oleana trailing behind him.

"I know exactly how you feel, it's a pity to have left my fans back in Kalos." Griselda says, her whole demeanor changing instantly.

Rose turns to you. "Are you a friend of Griselda's?" He asks

"Her? Oh, no! She was just asking for a photo and an autograph. But she was leaving now."

"I'm (Y/N)." You tell him, ignoring what Griselda had to say.

"(Y/N)? You must be the same (Y/N) that our unbeatable champion Leon never stops talking about." Rose chuckles

"Leon's been talking about me?" You ask, slightly shocked at the revelation.

"Why would the champion be talking about her?!" Griselda asks He nods.

"He seems to have taken quite the liking to you, something about you must have really caught his eye." Rose grins

_'I think Hades is quite fond of you, he must really like you for what you can do._ ' J's voice echos in your mind from a past conversation with her.

"Oh... well, I'm sure it's nothing-"

"Nonsense, he believes there's something special about you." Rose says

"Uhh... hello! I'm still here! And I didn't take time off of my busy schedule just to waste my time talking about her." Griselda says, gesturing to you.

"Of course, my apologies Miss Delaney. Shall we go on ahead, you should come with us as well (Y/N)." Rose suggests

But it was more like a demand since you didn't really have a say in the matter. Before Griselda could make an excuse for you not to join, Oleana ushered the two of you inside the local seafood restaurant. Chairman Rose leads the two of you to his regular table where a familiar redhead was already waiting for his arrival. Your eyes widen recognizing Sonia instantly, you turn around to leave before she sees you, but Oleana puts a hand on your shoulder and turns you back around.

"(Y/N)?!" Sonia questions

You awkwardly wave and mutter a greeting to her, as you take a seat next to Sonia. Across from you sat Rose and next to him sat Griselda while Oleana stood beside the Chairman. Much to Griselda's dismay, her meeting with the Chairman would have to be a shared one.

"You two know each other?" Rose asks

"It's a long story..." You mutter

As the Chairman and Sonia shift the conversation to Professor Magnolia, you zone out directing your attention to the outside view. Thoughts about the journey ahead flooding your mind, you'd of course have to catch a new pokemon to diversify your team. Your current pokemon could take on Kabu and Noibat would be a great help against Bea, but two dark types kinda put you at a disadvantage. Not to mention that later on you'd have to battle Opal, in which all your pokemon would be at a major disadvantage, especially Deino. You thought back to the pokemon you've already seen, pondering on whether or not you should go back to catch one.

"Yeah, who cares about all this nerd stuff. I'm here for what you promised we'd discuss and that's for you to bring pokemon showcases here to Galar." Griselda says, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"(Y/N), what do you think?" Rose asks

"Me?!" You exclaim, turning to face the Chairman.

"Her?!"

"I'm genuinely curious about your opinion and I would appreciate the feedback on the matter." Rose explains

"Well..." You trail off.

You glance at Griselda and watch as she mouths for you to ' _choose your next words wisely_ '.

"I don't think it's a good idea. In fact, I would propose that you bring contests here instead of showcases." You say

"Do tell." Rose gestures for you to continue.

"I just think that contests would be more beneficial for trainers. Contests draw out larger crowds, are inclusive, and aren't a form of glorified beauty pageants." You explain

"Plus, think of all the revenue you could make by introducing contests in which pokemon can dynamax in." Sonia chimes in.

As Rose thinks his decision over, Sonia turns to you and winks. Griselda seethes and glares at the two of you, Sonia only smirks having gotten revenge on the blonde for interrupting her earlier.

"Chairman, you have another meeting to get to." Oleana says

"So, what's your decision?" Griselda asks

"Both are great ideas, but if you don't mind I'll need time to think this decision over." Rose says

"Understood Chairman..." Griselda speaks through gritted teeth.

"And perhaps we'll have the rest of Galar weigh in."

With that said Chairman Rose and Oleana take their leave. Griselda directs a glare towards the two of you, but you're more focused on the worried expression of her Sylveon. You narrow your eyes, trying to further read the fairy pokemon's expression, but you're concentration is cut off by Griselda returning the fairy type eeveelution back into her pokeball. She takes a few steps forward towards the exit and stops, her voice turning ice cold.

"I always get what I want."

Your new rival leaves without sparing you another word or glance. Though despite her warning, you don't plan to back down. If you were forced to stay around longer in Galar, you were at least going to spend your time fighting for something worthwhile to you. Sonia puts a comforting hand on your shoulder as she gives you a firm look, you sigh knowing what's coming next.

"We need to talk." Sonia says

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> vi : you share a somewhat heartfelt conversation with sonia meanwhile leon commits his very first act of rebellion in an attempt to make amends with you.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work that I've published here on this website and I'd really appreciate some nice feedback. :)


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